Project Description:
In Schools Count! children are seen as stakeholders and fully-fledged citizens scientists. They are included to collect, analyse and understand Telraam traffic data, and to propose measures for their school environment. They learn what sustainable mobility and climate action covers through educational materials and how they can apply it to their local context. The children are not just study objects but carry out the study together with the other stakeholders. The child perspective reflects an inclusive approach to tackle societal challenges in school environments and on school routes. Within the developed 6-step approach, we face challenges in the latter phases: translating the child perspective into practical measures that strengthen the permanent implementation of sustainable mobility solutions in a school environment and on school routes.
Schools Count! intends to engage children (aged 9-12) and adults from selected school communities in the City of Genk (Belgium). These communities consist of families with a migration background who lack access to specific modes of transport (such as bikes or school buses) or cannot afford a transport mode. Together, we are working towards mobility experiments that are developed, tested, monitored and evaluated. The aim is to establish the link between the child’s perspective, adult views, applicable legislative frameworks and the city’s mobility strategy to permanently implement mobility measures. The ultimate goal is to define preconditions for a successful Schools Count! approach, particularly in the final phases of the process.
Project Type: Sustaining Grant
Theme: Sustainable Lifestyles, Mobility
Mentor:Yaela Golumbic
Schools Count!: Empowering Children to Transform School Mobility
Every child has the right to navigate a school environment that is safe, healthy, and conducive to active and independent mobility. This principle lies at the heart of Schools Count!, a citizen science initiative that empowers children to act as experts in addressing societal challenges related to school mobility. In Basisschool Driehoeven and BS Stippe Stap, two primary schools in the City of Genk, the initiative engages communities with migration backgrounds—often with limited access to active transport options—to co-create sustainable mobility solutions for their neighbourhoods.
From the children’s perspectives, the project prioritises their needs, ideas, and insights to identify and address current mobility challenges. Using a Telraam network, automated traffic sensors are installed on streets surrounding the schools to capture mobility patterns. Children, guided by educational materials, analyse this traffic data to learn about sustainable mobility and its connection to climate action. Through creative co-creation activities, they propose solutions to the challenges they face on their daily routes to school, using mediums such as presentations, videos, posters, poems, and crafts to express their ideas.
The IMPETUS Accelerator Programme has been instrumental in strengthening the inclusive approach of Schools Count! by supporting the development of dialogue formats. One such example is the “playground talks,” where children present their ideas and mobility solutions to key adult stakeholders, including representatives from the local mobility department, parents’ councils, school boards, and politicians. These interactions establish a foundation for implementing mobility measures in the future.
In Genk, a key takeaway from this dialogue phase has been the importance of offering children a free and open platform for sharing their perspectives, which keeps discussions engaging and productive for all participants. Additionally, one-on-one communication has proven vital for reaching the families of participating children. Parents, along with other residents of the school neighbourhood, are often best engaged through their direct connections with the schools. This approach is also essential for involving stakeholders in participatory workshops, where consensus on mobility measures can be achieved.
As the project nears its conclusion, the focus shifts to implementing, testing, and evaluating these proposed measures in collaboration with all stakeholders. Children’s perspectives remain central to these efforts, ensuring that the solutions benefit everyone in the neighbourhood. Proposed measures include reducing motorized traffic speeds, creating more space for active travellers, minimizing freight traffic through circulation measures, enhancing greenery, and improving parking management.
The real challenge now is to test whether the child-centered approach can disrupt traditional, conservative views on school mobility held by adults in the community. With the groundwork laid, it’s time to bring these ideas to life and assess their impact in real-world settings.
This article will be updated at the end of the project to reflect its outcomes and insights.
